"You have something to say?"
"Yeah."
...Here?
Right now?
Caught off guard by Yu Siwoo’s sudden words, I blankly looked around.
People chattering loudly, machines glowing dazzlingly.
Weren’t we here to celebrate finishing the exam?
I fidgeted with the device in my hand—the one Amelia and I had been using just moments ago.
"Uh, could this wait until we get home...?"
...Guess not.
Seeing Yu Siwoo’s serious face, I swallowed my complaint about saving it for later.
It had been more fun than I expected.
Reluctantly, I glanced at the device one last time before setting it down.
I could enjoy this again later.
It was fascinating, sure, but that was all.
Compared to Yu Siwoo, it was nothing more than trash on the side of the road.
"...Yes, what is it?"
Still, what was this about?
No matter how I thought about it, I couldn’t figure out the reason.
Why was Yu Siwoo staring at me with such a serious expression?
A flood of wild thoughts raced through my mind.
...Wait, was this place actually a villain organization’s hideout?
I knew it sounded like an absurd delusion.
A secret organization hiding beneath a place where people were casually enjoying themselves?
I was aware that even a middle schooler wouldn’t entertain such a childish idea.
But thanks to the Author’s existence, I couldn’t help but suspect it.
Because the Author had always been like that.
They’d shove in the most ridiculous settings, then grin and say, “Wouldn’t this be fun?”
"Well, uh..."
Yu Siwoo, who had been wearing a serious expression, now averted his eyes as if a little troubled.
Did that mean it was hard to talk about here?
"If it’s difficult to say here, should we step outside for a moment?"
"No. It’s not that. ...Will you take this?"
"Huh?"
As if he’d made up his mind, Yu Siwoo held out his hand to me.
On reflex, I took whatever was resting in his palm.
...A bracelet?
"This is..."
What was Yu Siwoo’s intention in giving me something like this?
I glanced around again.
People were still laughing and chatting, enjoying the space.
Why hand me something like this in a place like this?
True, it wasn’t out of place here.
It looked simple at first glance, but the black thread woven against the white gave it a touch of elegance—a pretty accessory.
Even I, who had no interest in jewelry, could tell it was well-made.
But the thread held a faint trace of magic.
What in the world was this?
Why was he suddenly giving me something like this?
"It’s a bracelet."
"...What do you think?"
"Huh?"
Yu Siwoo, tense with nerves, asked for my opinion.
What did I think? What did he mean by that?
I couldn’t understand him at all.
"Do you like it?"
"...It’s pretty, but... why?"
I had no idea what Yu Siwoo was trying to do.
The bracelet had magic in it, so it wasn’t ordinary—but what was the point?
Had the Author secretly started a new plotline, forcing Yu Siwoo to fight some new evil organization?
But the Author hadn’t spoken to me since, and Yu Siwoo had been with me this whole time...
I knew Yu Siwoo had been doing something in his room lately, but I never thought he could make something in such a short time.
"···I’m sorry. I really don’t understand."
So I decided to be honest.
What in the world was this thing? Why was he giving it to me?
I couldn’t begin to fathom the meaning behind this bracelet.
Siwoo, who had been staring at me with a tense expression, seemed flustered as he tried to explain something, only to sigh in the end.
"···I didn’t explain it well. It’s a gift."
"A gift?"
"Yeah, a gift. I made it myself. What do you think?"
He made it himself?
At his words, I unconsciously looked at the bracelet again.
Siwoo had made this bracelet?
Was he more dexterous than I thought?
I idly ran my fingers over the bracelet in my hand.
A smooth texture brushed against my fingertips.
"Want to try it on?"
"Uh, yes···?"
"Here, like this."
His sudden words took me by surprise.
Maybe he was frustrated that I hadn’t reacted to his handmade gift.
Or maybe he had always planned to do this.
Siwoo approached me and, without hesitation, put the bracelet on my wrist himself.
"Hmm, it looks nice. It suits you."
I blankly stared at his smiling face as he said it fit well.
This was nothing like what I had imagined.
It wasn’t some secret mission to take down a villainous organization.
It wasn’t a bracelet with some tragic backstory—just an ordinary gift.
"But why… give this to me?"
I had never once seen Siwoo give a gift to anyone before.
"I was worried you might be lonely."
"···Huh?"
"···Well, you see. Arte would probably have a hard time without me right now, wouldn’t she?"
Siwoo scratched his head and spoke to me carefully, as if hoping I wouldn’t take it the wrong way.
His voice was full of consideration, as if to say, *Don’t misunderstand.*
"I know it might seem like I’m giving this to you because of what you showed me earlier… but actually, I’ve been working on this for a while now."
"···A while now?"
"Yeah. I wanted to surprise you, so I made it in secret."
Ah.
Suddenly, I remembered Siwoo tinkering away alone in his room.
So that’s what he was doing.
"Amelia and Dorothy helped a lot too."
Hearing his words, a wave of self-loathing washed over me.
I had assumed he was so infatuated with some woman that he’d abandoned his usual training to fool around.
But that wasn’t it at all.
He had been taking time out of his schedule to make a gift for me.
I felt ashamed for asking Haryul to look into Siwoo behind his back.
"Tha—thank you…"
"But Arte, I can’t always be by your side."
"···I know. That’s true."
Just as I was about to express my gratitude, his apologetic tone made my mood sink.
Right.
As he said, he couldn’t stay with me forever.
When I bathed, when I did laundry—those were just everyday things.
But it wasn’t just about that.
Eventually, Siwoo would end up with a heroine.
And if that happened, he wouldn’t be able to stay with me.
What woman would be happy with another woman living in the same house, always clinging to Siwoo?
···I need to leave Siwoo.
Someday, I won’t be able to stay with him anymore.
Even with Siwoo right in front of me, my mind began to fade into a blank, white void.
Someday, I’d spend the night alone, writhing in loneliness, curled up in the dark.
Slowly, even my vision began to blur into white.
I shouldn’t think about it. I really shouldn’t.
I told myself not to, but I couldn’t stop.
Me, curled up alone, separated from Siwoo.
Would it be Amelia? Dorothy? The woman smiling happily by his side.
What would happen to me in that moment?
If Siwoo wasn’t around… if the only human I had was gone…
I couldn’t even begin to imagine how I’d feel.
"But I’ll always be with you."
"…Huh?"
Siwoo’s voice shattered my thoughts in an instant.
Always together?
…That’s—
"That’s impossible."
"It’s not."
"…You just said we couldn’t be together forever."
It was a contradiction.
Siwoo’s words were full of contradictions.
He said we couldn’t be together forever, yet now he claimed he’d always be with me.
Just empty words.
I was about to snap at him, thinking he was just trying to comfort me—
But then Siwoo spoke again.
"Right. I can’t be glued to your side forever. But I *will* always be with you."
"What does that—"
"Want to try putting some mana into this?"
"…Mana?"
Put mana into it?
If this was some useless trick, I’d give him a piece of my mind.
With that in mind, I channeled mana into the bracelet—and the sensation that hit me made me gasp.
"T-This…!"
"How is it?"
I could feel it.
Where Siwoo was.
Even if he wasn’t right in front of me, even if he was far away, I’d know exactly where he was. I was certain of it.
It was as if Siwoo and I were connected by an invisible thread.
"Even if we’re apart, Arte."
Staring blankly at the bracelet, I tested putting distance between us.
And yet, I still knew exactly where he was.
No matter how far apart we were.
No matter what he was doing.
I could sense that invisible thread between us, unbroken.
"We’ll always be together."
Only when I looked up to ask how he’d done it did I notice—
There on his wrist was a bracelet identical to mine.
"Don’t worry so much, Arte. I’ll always come running to you."
I ran my fingers over the bracelet he’d given me.
Its smooth texture carried a warm heat that spread through my chest.
"So… Arte. …Do you like the gift?"
"…"
As I absently traced the bracelet, I saw the confident man from moments ago now fidgeting nervously, unable to stay still.
That sight—
Siwoo’s flustered expression was so funny that I couldn’t help but giggle.
"How could I *not* like it?"
The warmth spread all the way to my heart.
Thump. Thump.
What was this pounding in my chest trying to tell me?
"It’s a wonderful gift. Thank you."